Russia’s new dual citizenships – a concern for the West?
Mar 13, 2020
Estonian Life No. 11 2020
In Russia, pending legislation probably will result in simplifying the attainment of Russian citizenship. Namely, applicants will not have to renounce their existing citizenship.
It's expected that those applying, mainly Russian-speakers abroad, would not have to fulfill continuous residency requirements, a stipulation for most countries.
Countries with sizeable Russian expats are concerned about the understanding of the changes by ultra-nationalists such as State Duma member Konstantin Zatulin who would actively promote the issuing of Russian passports to the millions of ethnic Russians already in foreign countries. This population is estimated to be approximately 30,000,000.
